--- description: The Amtrak train crash outside Philadelphia may have you questioning whether train travel is a safe alternative to flying or driving title: You Asked: How Safe Is Train Travel? image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltde093bcdab65f2d0/6988d9b9bc6cfc69913e2a3c/time-logo.jpg?branch=production --- * [U.S.](/section/us/) ## U.S. Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close * [Accident](/tag/accident/) ## Accident Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close # You Asked: How Safe Is Train Travel? ## Video: Know Right Now: Amtrak Train Derails in Philadelphia [Watch (HLS stream): Know Right Now: Amtrak Train Derails in Philadelphia](https://cdn.jwplayer.com/manifests/DYs6Ioeq.m3u8) (1:05)  _Published 2015-05-13. Know Right Now: Amtrak Train Derails in Philadelphia_  by [Justin Worland](/author/justin-worland/)  ## Justin Worland Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Senior Correspondent May 13, 2015 6:17 PM CUT  by [Justin Worland](/author/justin-worland/)  ## Justin Worland Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Senior Correspondent May 13, 2015 6:17 PM CUT The [Amtrak train crash](http://time.com/3857228/amtrak-crash-philadelphia-black-box/ "undefined") outside Philadelphia, which left at least seven people dead, may have you thinking twice about the safety of train travel. And in fact, research shows that trains are less safe than some other forms of long-distance transportation in the U.S., including commercial air travel, which is the safest. A 2013 [study](http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0739885912002156 "undefined") published in the journal _Research in Transportation Economics_ found that commercial air travel has just .07 fatalities per billion passenger miles. The study, which examined data from 2000 to 2009, didn’t include acts of suicide or terrorism. If you’re still concerned about the few accidents that contributed to that figure, it’s worth noting that there hasn’t been a fatal commercial airline crash in the U.S. since 2009. Despite some [high-profile accidents](http://time.com/3854916/video-bolt-bus-exploding-massachusetts-turnpike/ "undefined"), bus travel ranks as the second safest form of long-distance travel, with only 0.11 fatalities per billion passenger-miles, the study found. Long-haul passenger train service is nearly four times as dangerous, with 0.43 fatalities per billion passenger miles. A total of 13 people died during Amtrak accidents in 2014, according to [data](http://safetydata.fra.dot.gov/officeofsafety/publicsite/summary.aspx "undefined") from the Federal Railroad Administration. Car accidents are the most dangerous method of transportation by a large margin, with drivers or passengers in cars facing a fatality risk of 7.3 per billion passenger miles. More than 30,000 people died in car crashes in the U.S. in 2014. ### See Photos of the Amtrak Train Crash in Philadelphia  Emergency personnel work the scene of the Amtrak train wreck on May 12, 2015 in Philadelphia. Joseph Kaczmarek—AP  Emergency personnel work the scene of the Amtrak train wreck on May 12, 2015 in Philadelphia. Joseph Kaczmarek—AP  Emergency personnel help a passenger at the scene of the Amtrak train wreck on May 12, 2015 in Philadelphia. Joseph Kaczmarek—AP  Rescue workers climb into the wreckage of a derailed Amtrak train to search for victims in Philadelphia on May 12, 2015. Bryan Woolston—Reuters  Emergency personnel work the scene of a train wreck on May 12, 2015, in Philadelphia. Joseph Kaczmarek—AP  Emergency personnel work the scene of the Amtrak train wreck on May 12, 2015 in Philadelphia. Joseph Kaczmarek—AP  A crime scene investigator looks inside a train car after a train wreck on May 12, 2015, in Philadelphia. Joseph Kaczmarek—AP  A police officer takes a seat near the wreckage of an Amtrak passenger train which derailed in Philadelphia on May 12, 2015. Mark Makela—Getty Images  Officials survey the site of a derailed Amtrak train in Philadelphia on May 13, 2015. 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